10 Questions with Chu Ling-Jung

Chu Ling-Jung, born in Taiwan in 2000, is an artist focused on feminism and consciousness. Her works often explore the unease in women's body shaping and gender perception under a patriarchal society and present these themes through deliberate bodily transformations. Chu Ling-Jung 's creative forms are diverse, including performance art, video, and found objects. Through these mediums, she explores and presents the phenomena of the body in predetermined life events.

Chu Ling-Jung attempts to reflect on her own external heterogeneity through bodily performance and physical transformation. She believes that by establishing shared life experiences with the audience, the resonance created through the presentation of art appears to enable both herself and the viewers to mutually engage in each other's sensory worlds. In her view, this sensory interpretation of art by the viewer is akin to achieving an enlightenment-like realization. She believes that the interweaving of human thoughts and the overlapping of life experiences in artistic expression represent her vision and ideals for the world of art.

chulingjung.myportfolio.com | @chu_lingjung

ARTIST STATEMENT

In Chu Ling-Jung's artistic statement, she mentions wanting to apply theatrical thinking to performance art. She uses chapters from dramatic concepts to present her work, a method of 'dramatizing' predetermined events in her life through performance. She arranges the content of each performance art piece by dividing it into chapters, linking these together to create a 'dramatic' performance work. In this process, she layers the narrative through changes in her physical appearance and adjustments in her performance form, extending the plot through the articulation of her actions. By utilizing various objects and tools to deform the body, this performance controls and resists the inherent physiological phenomena of the female body.

INTERVIEW

Can you tell us about the journey that led you to become an artist? Was there a pivotal moment or influence that sparked your desire to create?

From a young age, I have been curious and passionate about all forms of creation, often exploring and experimenting with different mediums. However, due to traditional Asian educational thinking, parents do not support their children pursuing careers in the arts. After graduating from junior high school, I entered a junior college to study industrial design due to my father's expectations. However, in that learning environment, I was unable to truly achieve the creative form I desired. One day during my third year in junior college, I stumbled upon a painting by Miwa Komatsu. From her paintings, I realized how deeply I desire to devote my entire life to creating art. Therefore, after a month of contemplation, I decided to take a leave of absence and fully commit to preparing for the art college entrance exams.

How would you describe your artistic process? Are there specific rituals, materials, or techniques that you consider essential?

Because I have nearly four years of professional design education, design methodologies significantly influence my artistic creations. This allows me to think more comprehensively during the creative process. I believe that in my creation, using "symbols" to hint at the essence of the work to viewers is crucial. The work must embody both rationality and sensibility, and the knowledge context that forms the basis of the work is also essential. For me, art is knowledge perceived through the senses. Therefore, mastering how to transform knowledge into "symbols", enabling viewers to gain their own unique insights and "personal" knowledge from these emphases, is one of the crucial considerations in my process of working with art.

What inspired you to focus on themes of feminism and consciousness, particularly about women's bodies and gender perception in a patriarchal society?

Reflecting on my own consciousness is an issue I've been pondering since elementary school. Therefore, since junior high, I have been exposed to books on philosophy and theology. Such as Descartes' "Meditations", one of the important scriptures of Hinduism "The Song of God", and Tagore's "The Religion of Man". Through these books, I began to contemplate the connection between having a female body and my self-awareness. Especially regarding gender perception, the unequal power over women's bodies in both physical and social structures. This relates to the overall political dimension, such as medical practices in biopolitics and the oppression of women in terms of gender traits and physiology by gender essentialism.

You work with bodily transformations and performance art. In what ways do you see these mediums as effective for addressing issues of gender and body image?

In my performance art, the various physical transformations and changes I undertake transform the "act" itself from an "event" into a construction corresponding to life events. This is a way of "dramatizing" life events and reflecting on them. The aim is to liberate women from the framework of gender essentialism. This could be considered a form of reverse manipulation of one's life events and constructing one's own life events as a logical framework.

How do you select mediums for each piece, such as video, found objects, or live performance? Do certain themes require specific forms?

When choosing the form of performance art, my decision between video and live performance should be based on the conditions of the script itself and the meanings the work intends to convey to determine which form is more suitable as the medium of action. In my performance art, ready-made objects serve as a cue to the audience about the "symbolism"involved. If a particular performance of mine requires the extensive use of "symbols" as a medium, I would choose video creation. Conversely, if the audience becomes a crucial element in completing the script within the work, I would opt for a live performance.

What challenges do you face in using your own body as a medium for artistic expression, especially when addressing themes of discomfort or unease?

When female artists choose to use their own bodies as a medium, they inevitably face considerable criticism and challenges from the outside world, with slut-shaming being a common occurrence. However, I believe that through my own creations and the reactions they elicit from society, I can realize that women's issues need to be better understood and valued by society as a whole.

What do you hope viewers take away from your work? Is there a particular message or feeling you aim to communicate?

I hope viewers can gain or observe certain social issues they may not have been aware of through my work or provide inner support and strength to those struggling with gender-related concerns.

Could you tell us about a specific performance or piece where you felt you achieved a deep sensory connection with your audience? What was that experience like?

During the process of presenting "Defiance in Nude", I experienced a profound inner sensation that I had never encountered in my past creative work. The connection with the inner self is something I still cannot concretely describe in words. The connection it forms with the audience is, within my inner world, an intimate encounter on a spiritual level.

How has your practice evolved over time, and are there any new directions or projects you're excited to explore?

I'm in the process of practising a performance that integrates performance art and theatrical art forms. After encountering the core ideas of Poor Theatre, I wanted to extend the narrative construction of life into an expression that embodies the complete life process.

And lastly, what are you working on now? Do you have any new pieces or projects you are currently developing? 

My current project aims to use theatrical art as a narrative medium to evoke the occurrence of performance art. Furtherexploring the expression of bodily transformation in performance art, using it as a narrative method to present the complete journey of life. I plan to incorporate these elements into experimental filmmaking as a form of performance, striving to present a deeper level of artistic expression.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.